Match Reports - Saturday November 19th, 2022

Capilano RFC match reports from last weekend can be found below. Thank you to both John Langley and Heather Muir for writing the two reports. Remember that the Capilano RFC AGM is tonight inside the clubhouse at 9:00pm.

Women’s Mainland Division 1 (Premier) vs. Vancouver Thunderbirds

This weekend in Capilano Women’s rugby action saw the Premier side take on the Vancouver Thunderbirds (UBC) in a rematch of the October meeting where Capilano came out with a dominant victory. Capilano’s side for this match displayed an excellent range of experience with both veteran mainstays to the premier side as well as emerging players who have been coming through the 2nd Division program and are breaking into top tier play. The game promised to be an exciting and fast paced affair to kick off the day of matches at Klahanie Park!

Capilano started well with good pressure from the kick-off to pin the Thunderbirds in their own half for the first several minutes of the game before #10 Flora Poole spotted a gap and ran through on their first of many slicing runs of the day. Poole was brought down only 5 metres from the Thunderbirds line but was able to offload the ball to #12 Suhad Mardikian who came through on a beautiful support line to touch down for the first try of the game. Mardikian had a strong performance all game with hard-running lines that wreaked havoc on the defense and opened space for their fellow backs to capitalize on. Conversion from #15 Dani Fearns was good, and the home side took a 7-0 lead.

The Thunderbirds were able make their first entrance into the Capilano half off the kickoff, but the home side soon gained possession back and #10 Flora Poole kicked down field to open space that was chased down by #12 Suhad Mardikian and #11 Shelby Slay who were able to tackle the attempted kick return and gain valuable field possession. Capilano maintained pressure well and pushed the visiting side back and creating a turnover inside the Thunderbirds half. After several well-worked phases from both the forwards and backs, #4 Karina Christiansen crashed over the line to bring the score up to 12-0.

Capilano continued their dominant form as they worked their way back down the field from the kickoff with some big runs first from #8 Nicola Jones and then #15 Dani Fearns who broke multiple tackles before finally being brought down just outside the visitors 5metre line. The ball was quickly recycled to #1 Karyn Nelson who charged onto the ball at pace and dove over for their first try of the match. Conversion went wide, and the home side were up 17-0 inside the first 20 minutes of the half.

The next few minutes saw some great interplay from both sides as possession changed back and forth. Capilano #13 Sarah Bill and #6 Beth Dueck both impressed with several good runs and hard tackles to drive the Thunderbirds out of bounds and regain the ball. Capilano began to work the ball down field again until #10 Flora Poole spotted defender shooting out of the line, took the hole, and raced away into the Thunderbirds 22metre. An eventual penalty allowed Capilano to quick tap and on the second attempt at the line #1 Karyn Nelson barreled through the would-be defenders for their 2nd try of the game. Tough conversion bounced off the uprights and the score remained 22-0.

The home side managed to get inside the Thunderbirds half again soon after the next kick-off with strong forwards runs and offloads to keep the pace and intensity high. Capilano was awarded a scrum inside the Thunderbirds half which held firm and created a great platform for a set-piece play as #10 Flora Poole scrambled the defense with a beautiful dummy switch before taking the gap herself, dancing around the cover tacklers and over the line for a well deserved try to cap off a stand-out game from the fly-half. Conversion was wide, but the home side were in a comfortable lead at 27-0.

The job was far from over yet, however, as the determined young Thunderbirds side came back strongly and kept Capilano out of the visitors 22metre for several phases. Capilano was able to get near the try-line once more from a soul-crushing stiff arm from #9 Savannah Bacchus, but they were unable to capitalize, and the Thunderbirds turned over possession a few phases later. Play continued with good speed from both sides, but neither team was able to break very far into the opposition’s zones before an eventual clearance kick brought the half time whistle.

A rejuvenated Thunderbirds side came out firing in the second half, and the Capilano defense had their work cut out for them. The visitors managed to work into the home team’s 22metre on several occasions before finding space on the blindside for a run-in score from their winger to bring the score up to 27-5 early in the second half.

Capilano fought back quickly however, as #10 Flora Poole poached the ball on the halfway line and brought their team deep into the Thunderbirds zone. A safety stoppage for injury temporarily halted play before Capilano were awarded a scrum to restart the action. Several phases of hard worked play from across the board brought the home side to the 5metre line before hard-hitting impact player #16 Maddie Arbuckle picked from the back of a ruck and crashed over for their first ever premier try! Score was now 32-5.

The Thunderbirds got back on the board minutes later as they worked into the Capilano side with several well-executed phases to draw the defense and create space out wide. The Thunderbird’s backline eventually spotted a mismatch on the edge and stepped through for their second try of the game. Conversion from the visitors was good and the score now stood at 32-12.

The next few minutes of play displayed some excellent tackles from both sides and several phases of flowing rugby as Capilano managed to bring the ball into their offensive half and maintain the majority of possession. #23 Victoria Waud made their impact felt with great control and distribution which brought the ball metres short of the try line before it was recycled to the ever-present #10 Flora Poole who gave the ball out to #11 Shelby Slay who ran in under pressure to touch down for their first premier try to bring Capilano up to 37-17!

The Thunderbirds were pushing hard for a comeback as they showed great determination and perseverance in the last stages of the game. The young side was able to create overlaps in the Capilano defense and capitalized well as they scored two unanswered tries to bring the score within a much tighter range at 37-24.

The experience and composure of the Capilano side shone through, however, as they adjusted their defense and continued to push the tempo of the game through the full 80 minutes. The visitors made one final attempt to break into the Capilano end but some great interplay from #13 Sarah Bill, #6 Beth Dueck, and #9 Savannah Bacchus brought the play out of the home side’s danger zone and into the Thunderbird’s end. Capilano stayed strong and kept play outside their half for the remainder of the game until the ball was kicked out of play and the final whistle sounded for a final score of 37-24

Huge thank you to the Vancouver Thunderbirds for another great, clean, game, to the referee for officiating, and to all the volunteers who made the day run smoothly! Capilano players of the match were #3 Tina Luti who had another strong game for Capilano with their trade-mark big runs and rock-solid scrums, and #10 Flora Poole who had an outstanding game and seemed to multiply on the field as they made offensive and defensive plays with speed and efficiency. Player’s Player was awarded to #1 Karyn Nelson who had an impressive game on both sides of the ball by consistently leading pods and making cover tackles!

Heather Muir

Caps Men vs UBC

Today’s games were dedicated as a fundraiser for Nick Allen who was seriously injured in a scooter accident in Thailand. Nick was a Capilano junior before attending UBC. He later went on to play Canada 7’s. Caps committed to donating the entire days gate receipts, and proceeds from a bottle raffle and several silent auction items to Nick’s recovery fund. World Wide Shipping owned by Capilano Alumni Ian Smortchevsky agreed to match the funds raised today. The stands were packed and the overflow went on the side bleachers and elsewhere. The gate set a new one day record for league games. Over $2,300 was collected at the gate. Thanks to Gord Currie for operating the gate.

Everything appeared to be on for three big games. Two on the Stadium Bob Spray field and one on the upper field. The game on the upper field between Capilano reserves and UBC was delayed and then postponed due to frost on the corner of the pitch. The lower field looked to be a problem also but the referee decided it was playable and the Women’s game commenced. Caps won this game and it would be followed by the Premier Men’s game.

The Premier Men’s game Capilano versus UBC: UBC won the game 24-17 with a late try but it was any ones game for most of the contest.

You could tell that the Capilano side was fired up. Today’s captain, Neil Courtney a former Thunderbird, returned to the lineup following a head knock that saw him miss a couple of games. Neil had the Caps ready to play and they were able to disrupt the UBC back line. Both teams made some big hits. Both sides had some chances to score tries but the only score in the first half came from a nice 40 meter drop kick by Jeremy Simon. UBC came close but a huge hit saw the ball squirt forward into Capilano hands and they were able to run the ball out of danger. The long kicking of Mike Moloney and Jeremy Simon kept pushing the visitors back.

The second half saw the T-Birds score early. Their number 8 Wilson-Valdez made a strong run and got in the clear then he passed to number 9 Jack Carson who touched it down under the posts. UBC up 7-3. Would this score open the flood gates or would Cap’s answer? A UBC pass went astray and Caps put the pressure on. Jeremy Simon fielded a clearance kick, faked run, then put the ball in the UBC corner near the stands. He then tried another drop kick but it was short. Some back and forth kicking ended with a great 50-22 kick by Mike Moloney. Caps continued to press and finally after several phases they mauled it in and James Ritzema got it down. Caps now had a 10-7 lead. UBC looked like they would score again but somehow Jeremy Simon managed to knock the ball out of the UBC players hands. Shouts of We We rang out from the stands saluting the talented Frenchman. It was a goal line drop out for Capilano. Caps kicked it deep but UBC scored following a lineout, the T-bird number 13 McMullin scored a nice try. The conversion missed and it was 12-10 for UBC.

Caps regained the lead, an attempted UBC clearance kick was charged down and Caps nearly scored but UBC managed to cover the ball. A Cap 5 meter scrum was awarded and Chris Robinson got close but was stopped. Caps kept pressing and Glen McKinnon touched down. The conversion was good and it was now 17-12 for Capilano. A penalty kick for a line out put UBC in position to score and they managed to maul it in to even the score. They missed the conversion from the side and the score was 17-17. It was now the 71 minute mark.

UBC had the stronger bench. They were able to replace both props, while Caps replaced one. The students fitness and bench were perhaps slightly stronger but there was no doubt that we had seen a very tight and exciting rugby game that could have gone either way. UBC scored very near full time with a well taken try by their fullback Matt Perceillier who ran a very straight line to ice it for the Thunderbirds. There was time for the restart but that was about all. The game officials had done an excellent job controlling the game. Thanks to them. The after game festivities were well handled and Chef Jim Leith had once again done an outstanding job. The Caps men of the match were Glen McKinnon and Mike Moloney. I noticed that Caps had awarded number 11 Mahyer Hosseini the vest as their pick for Man of the Match. He did have a very outstanding game running the ball and tackling. It was a great day of rugby and fundraising.

John Langley